Rhythm
by Astral0Dragons
Summary: A quick oneshot about Lucy as a pop dance artist and Natsu as a boxer. Written for @constellunaa after she posted it. Enjoy! Be warned, this fic contains more fluff than a heard of sheep bo-peep uses to fall asleep. And some suggestive context. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

This a oneshot for constellunaa really liked the idea that was put fourth and had this pop into my head once i read the post. Enjoy :D

I should mention that the age of the people in this is like early/mid 20's

Sweat

Cross, left, cross, right, cross, right.

It was a simple pattern repeated over and over, droning through the gym. The older sandbag sitting in front of him groaned on its rope as it swung to and fro, taking the force of the brutal onslaught of Natsu's punches.

Natsu stood inside of Erza's private gym, she had taken him as an instructor a while back for the higher level judo kids, and he always practiced. He had nothing else to do after all. Practice, eat , sleep, practice, eat, punch Gray, sleep. It was an everyday thing. Why would it change?

With a final groan, the sandbag fell off of its hook, spilling the contents onto the floor.

"Well shit" Natsu stated as he walked forward and started to clean up the mess. Sand found its way in between his toes and across his now sweating arms, coating him in a thin coat of dust.

He picked up the old rag and looked for a hole.

"Here, try this." A familiar voice said behind him.

"Thanks Erza!"

"I can't believe you broke ANOTHER bag, do you know how much this thing costs? Just, go get cleaned up, then come back here. I need a favor for this." Erza said. The Redhead began to clean up the mess and Natsu made his way to the locker rooms. The rooms were far away from the actual practice area, which he found odd, and they usually were not being used at all at this time.

Which is why the sight of a group of people was enough to make him stop in his tracks.

And Gray was kissing one of them? _Ooooooooh you are so not hearing the end of this one._ His devilish smirk plastered itself across his face as he took a picture of Gray.

"So Ice Dick, whos that?" Natsu yelled across the room.

"A friend of mine" Gray said.

"Just a friend?" Natsu asked.

"Gray-sama! We have been dating for almost 3 months now and-" the bluenette started.

"WAIT DON'T-" Natsu's smile reached the end of his face "Fuck…. Go to hell Flamebrain"

Natsu just laughed as he entered the men's room ready to wipe all this extra shit off of himself, it was really getting annoying.

He pondered what Erza wanted him to do… she never asked him to stay extra anyway…

-=-(Going back in time a bit, SHowing Lucy's entrance)-=-

Lucy walked into the Gym with her team. They had a dance recital before their big performance the next week and one of her best friends was letting them use her Gym to practice in. Lucy opened the door for herself and the rest of her crew.

"Come on Lucy! We don't wanna be late!" The little girl known as Wendy blabbered. She really was a cute thing but _Ugh_ why did everything have to be done so fast with her? She moved like the wind no matter where she went, as if some breeze had picked her up to carry her with energy.

"Lucy, Juvia, Wendy!" A redhead shouted from the hallway down from them.

"Erzy!" Wendy shouted as she leapt at her longtime *adopted* big sister.

"Hey there Wendy, Glad all of you came." Erza replied simply as she put the girl back onto the ground. "I am gonna have the main gym for you guys in just a second just have to wait for-"

 _CRRRAAAAACK_

"God damnit did he really break ANOTHER ONE?" Erza yelled. "Gray help the girls get ready" She shouted at the man who appeared from behind a door labeled "Practice room 3"

"Mkay i can do-" The raven haired boy started

"GRAAAAAAAY" Lucy's friend Juvia slammed into her boyfriend of a few months and smothered him in a hug.

"Hey there Juves, i see you're still as lively as ever" Gray grumbled in greeting.

Lucy smiled at the scene, all her friends had seemed to find matches for themselves that worked perfectly for them, even her old Roommate Mira, the continental sized shipper queen, had found herself in a relationship not to long ago with some dude named ….Laxy?... maybe, she met at a party.

Was that his name? Oh what does it matter. She was happy for her friends anyway.

"So ice dick who is that?" Asked someone she had never met before. She remembered that Erza had mentioned that a new trainer had been hired for the more advanced and speciality training services once Elfman stepped down to actually have a married life.

The boy that had yelled had weird pink, spiky hair, and was leaning against the doorframe in a nonchalant manner, a scarf was over his left shoulder and a towel was loosely hung over his left.

He was wearing slightly baggy black sweatpants with a rugged dragon print across the legs, each ending in a spurt of flames. She noted that there was fine coating of dust covering all of him

 _Yeah, and he's shirtless hun, you caught that right?_ A little voice in the back of her head said as she continued to stare at this walking anomaly. _Shush it_ She told her mental dialogue back.

She walked into the dressing rooms, hoping that he hadn't noticed her.

Watching her friend walk into the room, Juvia smiled, She knew love at first sight. After all it was what her and Gray were!

-=-=-=-=-=-(Both view)

" Ok Erza what didya want?" Natsu asked as he strolled into the room, still shirtless, but now free of dust.

"I need you to help with the Recital that the girls are going to be putting on, they are all friends of mine and i expect you to treat them with RESPECT, AND DO NOT BREAK ANYTHING. UNDERSTOOD?"

"YES MA'AM" Natus Bowed down to show he understood and looked around. "What are you going too then?"

"I have an important meeting tonight" She started walking forward to exit the room.

"Oh ok, say hi to Jellal to me! Hope the _date_ goes well" Natsu smirked and crossed his arms and the redhead.

"I-it's not like t-that" Erza stuttered, "I have an important business meeting that i have to go to and i can't-"

"That's not what i heard! Cana said that you and Jellal were going to hide away for the night and try out the new rope-"

" _SILENCE YOU INSOLENT DOLT, YOU WILL BEHAVE AND YOU WILL STOP TALKING."_

"O-ok," Natsu said as he tried to make himself as small as possible to avoid the redheads wrath.

"Good, now i expect you to follow, and help the girls with _every single damn thing_ that they need, UNDERSTOOD?"

"Ok Erza, I got it. Just go enjoy your date and i'll take care of stuff here" Natsu smiled as she finally left the room, waving goodbye.

"Yeah, and that piece goes over there" Levy said, as she directed Natsu in moving the lighting equipment to the stage they were going to be dancing on. "Hey lucy help him plug that in will ya?"

"Sure Levy." Lucy walked over to the Pinkette and began untangling the wires that connected it to the rest of its grid.

"Ok after that, Ladies, grab your partner and we need to begin rehearsing."

"Uh…." Natsu said "Why is she treating him like a seat?" He looked at Lucy with a massive confused expression strewn across his face.

 _YOu know you could easily just lean in and-_ " _No"_ she silently told her mental dialogue.

"That's her boyfriend, Gajeel. They are so cute together, though surprisingly Levy is the dominant one…" Lucy trailed off as Natsu stared at her.

"Oh, ok"

The rest of the night went decently, each of the girls had their dance partner show up to begin rehearsing the moves for the performance. Even Romea had shown up early and _finally_ asked Wendy on a formal date.

Lucy hoped she hadn't squeezed the poor guy too hard when she excitedly hugged him.

Lucy sat watching the couples dance, each of them had their duet ready and Levy quickly guided them into a rehearsal. She sat quietly and watched, glad her friends had finally found a hobby. She had taken up dancing a while back because it was something she could use to express herself.

But she had never had a partner until recently. He had asked her a few times ago about doing a couples dance and even asked her out on a date afterwards! Only to show be found the next day cheating with his _Actual_ girlfriend instead.

Lucy sighed into her arms, truly saddened now. For the couples part of the dance performance she wasn't a participating in it, she had memorized the moves… But she had nobody to do it with… _For fucks sake,_ she thought to herself, _I even know the lyrics to this._

She looked around and noticed that the guy who had been helping them throughout the rehearsal was gone, and the door to the left was open. It swung into the wind slowly.

 _Oh whatever, i'm not gonna be needed here anyway, maybe i can somehow repay him for helping us, after all we usually have Gajeel do it alone._ She walked out of the room and down a dimly lit hallway. The hallway had a musky scent, like sweat and bodies. The boards lain on the floor were worn to smooth sections in the middle of the path, and the edges still held a rough texture. She made her way down the hall to a room lit by low hanging fluorescent lamps. Each casting shadows across the rooms in multiple directions. In the corner of the room, a radio droned out a tune she was very familiar with. She could feel herself tapping to the beat of the music. Then stopped as the scene in front of her came into view.

Standing on a raised matt above the regular floor was Natsu. His scarf tied around his hair and his bangs hanging below his neck in the back. Sweat coated his chest, reflecting the lights and giving him an oiled appearance. She watched him in awe as he moved on the floor, the music quietly making a pattern in the movements of the man in front of her.

He moved left quickly, flashing out his wrist to the right. Immediately following with a sweep from his left leg. He held up his hands in a blocking motion and quickly twisted around, throwing a multitude of punches in rapid succession into the air. Then he flipped backwards. Twisting in the air like a cat to bring his leg around in a hook to the opponent that only showed itself to him.

She stood and watched for another hour at least. She could hear the gym her friends were practicing in shut off its tunes, signaling the stop for the night. She didn't bother to check on them, she was still watching this boy fight off invisible enemies.

He moved across the floor in fluid motions, his fists and legs fell in perfect sync with the other, his body simply acting as a rod to connect the two. He wasn't just fighting to practice. He was fighting for his passion, he seemed to pour his heart into the dance across the floor. The dance of two opponents permanently locked into a struggle of wits, begging the other to fall onto their knees and fail, for their own triumph.

 _A dance…_ She thought to herself. _It's like his attune to some immaculate tone that only he could hear… its impressive._ Slowly, the pinkette came to a stop. He landed on a single foot and balanced on it, then collapsed to the ground beneath him.

"Done…" he wheezed out, breathing and stretching his sore muscles. "Thought i wasn't gonna get a break from that today, glad i did."

"Yeah sorry about that." Lucy said speaking out of the blue.

"WHO THE HELL ARE- oh hi blondie." he shot up instantly and waved to her. "Recital go well? Hope nothing broke…" she heard him whisper…

"It was ok, i'm only in the first part of the dance actually, don't have a partner for the couples part. Thanks for helping though." she smiled brightly at him, hoping how tired she was did not show."

"Anytime, Erza asked me too anyway…. You don't say no te her" Natsu shivered in remembrance of the redheads wrath.

She laughed at his antics. "Well i have to go now, Thanks for the help Natsu!" she turned and started to walk away until he stated bluntly.

"You do know its almost 2 am right?" His head tilted to the side and his arms crossed his chest like a dictating mother.

"Wait…. TWO AM?" she shouted. _That means that i just sat there and watched him work out like a stalker for around five hours…_

 _He has good endurance though i bet that would be-_

" _Shut up brain, now is not the time." she spoke silently to herself._

"You need a ride from me then? Since its late and all?" he asked politely

 _Well of course we do, all the way till we reach your bedro-_

"Yeah, i think i do", Lucy said aloud, silently thanking her mind for not shutting up when it had the chance.

"Ok, call your friends then. I'll take ya there" Natsu gathered his things and walked into the locker room, whistling the whole way. "I'll be just a minute" then he vanished behind the locker room door.

"So you said that nobody answered? Wow thats pretty rude of them…" Natsu replied as they rode in his car down the highway. "Do you have a place to stay then?"

"Uh… i guess just drop me off at some hotel. I'll get a room for tonight." She leaned her head back in her seat silently hoping that the reason her friends didn't answer was because of some… activities… they were doing.

"No, you can crash at my place. Erza said i had to take care of you gals or else she will beat the shit out of me, thank her i guess."

"Oh, no that's fine" Lucy felt herself blushing slightly at his words for some reason.

Later the two drove up to a small cottage set into the edge of the woods. It was a deep shade of pale red with white trim topping the corners. Each window was laced with an intricate marble bottom.

They walked inside and natsu walked forward to turn on the light.

"Uh… sorry about the mess, didn't realize it was those bad…" Natsu visibly cringed and patted his neck a few times as the lights turned on to illuminate the room before him.

"Honestly, i think my dorm was worse than this." lucy walked forward and sat on the couch, pushing a pair of shoes placed in a bag onto the floor.

"Really?" Natsu asked walking forward and sitting himself onto the couch beside her. "Well, that was unexpected…"

"Yeah she leaned back onto the couch and yawned, my life is a total mess.

Natsu laughs along with her and reaches for his remote. He flips on the TV and navigates to Netflix and begins to start another episode of The 100.

"Oh, actually i'll just watch this in my room, so you can sleep." A sudden urge took hold of Lucy as she said to him "Nah, just stay, watching a show alone is no fun anyway…"

Silently the two sat rigid on the couch, not knowing what to say to the other, and caught up on the happenings of the second season of the show, both quietly drifting off into slumber within the first twenty minutes.

Well… this was supposed to be a oneshot… Looks like im gonna add a few chapters then. I'll be updating it hopefully tonight after work or tomorrow!

Snagged this prompt from a reblog by constellunaa on Tumblr.

And this was written due to her response, props to you for this :D


	2. Homely: Chapter 2

Homely

A/N: That's odd, i seem to have a bunch of sheep somewhere because all i see is fluff for miles…, Meh, whatever. And why does it smell like lemons in the distance?

Oh well, Enjoy! :D

Thanks to Hime of Hearts, LynsieTheBraveShadowHuntress, (I didnt know our names could be that long), and PhantomSeekerz255 for the kind words!

Sunlight filtered through the window as Lucy quietly came back into consciousness. The rays danced across the floor, creating a pattern of gold through the room. A small cat was sitting on a chair across the room. Slowly swaying its tail back and forth like a metronome to keep itself in motion. The TV was still on, finally finishing the last episode of The 100, but now it had become very quiet.

Of course, this wasn't noticed by Lucy, she had yet to open her eyes to the dawning world of morning. Instead, she had snuggled herself into the pillow beneath her. It was really warm, since she had been laying in just a single place all night long, slowly dreaming away the hours of dusk. She silently decided that she would buy a hundred of these pillows. They were sooo comfortable!

 _Well of course it's comfortable, remember those abs from yesterday? Yeah they make a great pillow._ Her internal monologue droned into her head in a no-nonsense voice.

" _Oh shush,"_ She told it back. Slowly she opened her eyes to see what she was laying on. It took her a moment to process the view. Far below, two toned feet fell off the couch, resting on the floor below. A pair of white sweatpants gilded itself on a pair of legs. And the chest had a skin tight shirt, covering abs capable of making the front page of any magazine in the world.

But they weren't exactly covering them. At some point the fabric had moved upwards, exposing itself to whatever rested there.

Which she realized was where she had her head resting.

 _And you enjoyed it!_ Horrified, Lucy had no response for her inner Mira-esque conscious.

"HEY GET OFF" Lucy shoved Natsu off the couch and witnessed him fall onto the floor in a tangled mess. The cat on the rocking chair had now decided that it was a good time to wake up and simply looked down at its owner, then turned away and pushed a pillow onto his head.

"What the hell was that for?" Natsu asked as he began to massage his now sore head.

"For sleeping in my room you total creep! What kind of guy just decides that he's gonna sleep with this chick without asking?" Lucy retorted as she pulled her arms around her chest and began pouting.

"Um, well maybe because it's my couch?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side in question

"What?... Oh… yeah…" Lucy finally realized that she was not in fact inside her own house, but rather in the house of a total stranger who her brain recalled having been good at fighting. "Sorry about that, I, uh… didn't realize this i guess."

She then watched as the pinkette took in her apology. And decided to laugh.

"What are you doing?" She asked while sitting up and placing her hands on her hips in a valiant attempt to look imposing.

"Your so… weird" Natsu said, finally seeming to gain control of his laughter. He smiled at her as he got up and headed to the kitchen and stopped halfway down the hall. He turned around to face her.

"Thank you, haven't had a good laugh in a while, I enjoyed that" He then walked into the kitchen and began working on something that was far out of her view.

 _Well done, now that he admitted that he liked you you can go up to him and start making-_

" _No, shut up for FIVE MINUTES"_ Lucy told her internal dialogue

A few minutes later Lucy had managed to find her way into Natsu's bathroom and took a quick shower. She stood staring at herself in the mirror for a few moments.

"I don't have any clothes to change into… Shit…"

 _Just wear nothing, he would enjoy it._ Her internal bad idea generator replied.

" _How about no"_ She thought back.

She looked around the room and took in the view once more. The walls had a dark tiled surface with a trim of white around the edges. An old grungy mirror sat above the sink. And a single shelf of toiletries sat on a rack with 4 other shelves that held pictures.

And every single one of them was of that weird cat that Natsu had.

She sat herself back down and wrapped herself in the towel. She really didn't want to change back into what she was wearing, they were sweaty and disgusting. Then she noticed the cabinet underneath the sink had a shelf on the side, between the oaken door and the mirror. On it was a folded shirt and a pair of gym shorts.

"Well" She said aloud to nobody in particular, "Might as well."

Lucy dressed herself and looked into the mirror. The shirt was around 4 sizes to large so she used her ponytail to tie off the excess at her hips into a knot. The shirt bore an immense dragon on the right hand side. Its scales seemed to glitter as they made their way through the shirt and to the sleeve where the tail ended. The rest was simply a fade into black till it reached the end. The shorts she had picked up were simple black with the classic Nike check across the side, and oddly enough they were not the kind that hung low.

She walked into the hallway, the scent of something brewing wafted its way down the halls. She practically flew to the wonderful cup of what she hoped was coffee brewing in the kitchen. She jumped around the doorframe and was stopped immediately as she ran straight into Natsu, who now had his cup of coffee spilled onto the floor.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I should have paid attention, here do you have a rag i can-" Lucy started in a nervous stanza.

"Nah, that's fine Lucy. I'll take care of it." He smiled and handed her a steaming cup what what she could only assume was heaven based on the smell. "Here take this, i'm gonna get this cleaned up, Erza would kill me if i didn't…" He trailed off as he left the room to grab some supplies to clean it up. Lucy looked down at the messed she had caused.

" _Ugh i'm gonna need to repay him somehow…" She echoed into her head._

 _Well you're not wearing anything under that shirt so you could take-_

Lucy smashed her face against the table she had " _No that is not happening"_

"Uh… are you okay?" A voice behind her suddenly asked

"Whaaa?" Lucy popped her head off the table and saw Natsu standing there staring at her with an expression of pure confusion on his face. "Oh, yeah i'm fine, i was just, uh… getting a headache, yeah that's it…"

"Oh, ok. Um, why are you wearing my shirt by the way?"

"Oh this?" She asked, pointing rather deliberately at her chests. She could hear her Bad Idea Generator nodding in approval at the action. "Well… I don't really have a change of clothes, since they were in the bus that we took still and i thought i was gonna go with the other girls after rehearsal anyway. Lucy began twisting her hair around her fingers, hoping he wouldn't get mad at her.

"Oh, yeah that makes sense." Natsu said. He was set up his coffee pot to brew another pot of the heavenly beverage and looked in her direction. He started to scratch his neck and refused to look at her for a few seconds. And a light blush coated his cheeks.

And Lucy had no idea why.

"Well, keep it then. It uh, looks really nice on you." He quickly turned his face and walked out of the room, heading in the general direction of the bathroom. "Im going to shower, i guess i'll take you back after then." Natsu quickly hurried himself into the bathroom and locked himself inside. Lucy heard the water turn on almost immediately, the sound of the water slowly drowning out the low hum of the coffee maker near her.

" _That was odd"_ She thought to herself, " _Why did he go so fast? Oh well, he makes great coffee, Wonder if i can take his secret."_

 _That's not the only thing you want hun, remember his bedroom looks really nice and i bet that now that he is taking a shower you could-_

" _OH SHUSH, WHEN DID I ASK YOU TO INTERRUPT."_ She took a sip of coffee, enjoying the slight hint of spice that seemed to be prevalent throughout the entire mixture. "Well, i guess i should see what the girls are gonna do today" She then said aloud, browsing her phone and sipping the coffee that Natsu had made for her.

()(View change: Natsu)()

The water cascaded down his back, pooling at the ground below and reflecting the light of the overhead lamp. Shadows casted by himself appeared on the walls as silhouettes being bombarded by a stream. Steam rose up from the water as it left the silver colored shower nozzle.

Natsu used a simple cloth to wipe himself down. Its rough edges causing the heated water to turn his skin raw. After finishing his shower he got out and simply sat, undressed, in the middle of the bathroom. He stared at the floor for a few minutes and finally decided that it was time to get dressed. He chose a simple pair of black jeans with large pockets and a white undershirt with Erza's Gym Logo splattered across the right shoulder. He placed a crimson dress shirt over the top of that and left it unbuttoned. Finally he finished of his look with a scarf.

Natsu walked into his bedroom, taking a moment to put away his gym clothes from yesterday into the wash basket. Then the pinkette simply sat on his bed and looked at the door, and said to nobody in particular.

"Why is… Why is Luce so- so… weird?"

()(Master View)()

Juvia pulled her hair back and looked at Gray who was getting dressed behind her. He still didn't have his shirt on though.

Which she didn't mind one bit.

"Do you really think that was a good idea Juvia? Leaving you and Levy's best friend in the hands of Flame Head?" Gray asked her

"Juvia is sure it was a good idea!" she stated. "Lucy has been lonely for so long, after losing her mom… But Juvia thinks that Lucy is gonna like Natsu." Hearts slowly appeared in the brunette's eyes. "I bet they had a _wonderful_ night! Juvia can't wait to here about it!"

Gray looked at Juvia in total shock. "Wait, you told them not to answer any calls from Lucy because you started _shipping_ two people who barely know each other? What if something goes wrong, what if Natsu does some-"

"Erza, Dear Gray. Erza can beat anything into an answer, _Anything_."

"That doesn't even make sense Juves!"

"Suuuure" she saunters over to him and leans against his back since he was facing his dresser still. "What about that time that you said that you couldn't fix that statue Erza had and you _somehow,_ managed to create a brand new method of sculpting _and_ finished by the next day?" She smiled at her boyfriend who already turned to face her.

"Well i had that in the making so-"

"You finished it a month earlier than planned hun."

"Ok you win." Gray threw his hands up in exasperation "just _please_ make sure Natsu doesn't kill her, he isn't the smartest one around."

"Of course dear, I'll make sure of it"Juvia walked out of the room, heading to her office to continue working on some of her paperwork for her work. She settled down and grabbed her phone; And Gray couldn't see the devious look on her face. She had a call to make.

Mira would be proud, she just knew it.

()(Natsu/Lucy)()

 _He looks really good while driving, what if we let him drive y-_

" _Oh please, can you rest it for just 10 minutes?" Lucy asked herself sarcastically._

Lucy was riding in Natsu's car down the highway, heading to the section of town that Erza had her gym set up in. Both hadn't really said much to the other besides the commonplace niceties of society.

" _Why is she suddenly so quiet?"_ Natsu asked himself. " _Is it about the recital tonight?"_

"Ok we have arrived!" Natsu said instantly jumping out of the car, by this time it was around noon and the bus the rest of the team had arrived in was already present. Lisanna had finally arrived with Bickslow in tow, and both were currently eating ice-cream in the parking lot.

"LUCY, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Asked Erza as she stormed out of the door of the gym.

"Levy has taken careful precautions to make sure this goes all according to plan and to have you not present is dishonorable and is punishable-"

"Calm it strawberry, it was my fault as well… i didn't set any alarms." Lucy Looked at Natsu with an absolutely aghast look on his face, " _He just… defended me? From ERZA?" she thought to herself._

"Ugh Natsu, you really should- wait, why was she with you? Oh my! NATSU IF YOU DID ANYTHING TO LUCY-"

"Y'all left her here last night and then went home, then nobody answered their phone! I wasn't gonna just leave her in some random hotel or drive off Erza! So i let her sleep on my couch."

All parties present suddenly turn to a now flustered Juvia, who had walked outside with Gray at a very bad time.

"YOU TOLD US SHE WAS OK" Erza screamed at juvia

"I Th-thought she w-was!" Juvia stumbles on her words. "So when she called i thought she was just gonna start yelling about going out or something…"

"WELL YOU SHOULD HAVE-" Erza started

"It's fine Erza, don't worry about it" Lucy said. Besides, Natsu makes great coffee anyway.

"Oh, wait he does?" She asked questionably.

 _Yes, but i wanted him shirtless._ Her Mind decided.

"Well can he make coffee for all of us?" Asked Juvia, who was still leaning in Gray's arms.

"Well no actually. We need someone to run into town and get some of the decorations we forgot to pack…" Said Levy as she removed herself from Gajeel's shoulders. "And i was hoping that Lucy could do it since she is the only one of us who isn't paired with any other dancer for the duet…"

"I guess i could, But how am i going to get-" she stopped as the other girls replied in unison

"Ask Natsu."

"God damnit! Does it occur to yall that i have shit to do?" Asked Natsu as he placed himself face up on the ground and yelled at the sky.

"Could you Natsu? Please?" Asked Levy. "Lucy doesn't exactly have a car and she needs someone strong to help get it.

"I don't wanna" he said sitting up and crossing his arms "Ask Gajeel, or even Ice Dick would work!"

"They have to practice for the dance"

"Ugh…" Natsu paused and glared at Levy for a few seconds. "No."

"here, " Lucy whispered to Levy, "Let me ask him"

 _You can totally offer to make o-_

" _No, shut it"_ she mentally punched herself in the face, hoping her mind would shut up for just ten minutes

"Hey Natsu, Could you please? I… uh… I don't have any way to get around."

"Uhm… Let me think" Natsu said

"Of course he will!" Juvia interjected. "Lucy even offered to take you out to eat afterwards!"

"YEEEEESH!" natsu yelled as he suddenly jumped up. "Come on Luce! Let's go!"

"Wait what?" IT was all she got to say before Natus literally picked her up and carried her to the car. In seconds the two drove away towards the direction of downtown.

"Why does something tell me…" Erza said, slowly turning to look at Juvia."That Ship-Captain-Mira is still present?"

"Oh no," Juvia smiles deviously as she finishes. "I'm just helping the boat move"

Hehehe, This feels like a good place to end for today! Gonna update the Healing wounds fic tomorrow, wanted to fix some things that i almost messed up xD

Enjoy!


	3. Shopping: Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello! Back with another chapter again! It has been a while so ill just get to reviews and let y'all read.**

Thanks to: PhantomSeekerz255, LynsieTheBraveShadowHuntress (Nice pic btw), Hime of Hearts, and Sayaka Chan 94.

I will be keeping this rated T, i dont plan on making this a smut. Much to Lucy's consciousness dismay. But the suggestions will remain. It is inclded for humorous purposes after all.

Shopping

"I still don't understand why _I_ have to come with you, gas ain't cheap ya know."

"Well thanks for helping! It's been awhile since i got to have my own escort to get me around"

 _Well, lets hope this hunk can get us o-_ Started her brain.

" _SHUT IT, KEEP THIS PG PLEASE."_ She silently retaliated.

 _Phh, i know you wondered what it would feel like to have him-_

" _When i said shut up i meant it, i'm gonna-_

 _Gonna what? Attack your poor brain? Hun i'm your conscious telling you to get off your ass and go after this sexy hunk- OW_

Her brain- and Natsu- was silenced as she slammed her head into his dashboard.

"Umm… ooook then…" Natsu looked back at the road. "In case you are interested there is an insane asylum just outside of town."

"Shut it firehead" She said

"HEY! Don't take an insult from gray!"

"What? Is only he allowed to call you-"

"Yes he is!"

"Well then Mr specific lets just get this over with before i decide to throw myself off this ever so flawlessly placed bridge coming up and plunge into my death below."

Lucy froze as his hand suddenly gripped her thigh. "Um,... please don't jump. You're not that kind of person." Lucy looked straight at Natsu as she noted his face suddenly heating up to cherry red status.

"Oh, uh, yeah ok." Lucy sat in the car and leaned back as the two drove in the direction of the nearest department store in hopes to pick up the supplies. They sped by cars in their race to hopefully reach their destination before setting off an enraged Erza, or even Levy if they were late enough.

Not once did Natsu remove his hand from its place on Lucy's leg.

-=()()(The gym, With the rest of the Dance Crew)()()=-

" Do you really think that was a good idea guys?" Asked a worried Erza.

The group of girls and their dance partners were standing inside of Erza's gym. They were all preparing for their upcoming dance performance on the next weekend. The coming saturday was going to be their biggest yet, attracting a crowd of over 1000 people, and they really did not want to mess up.

"Yeah, remember that Dan guy is supposed to show up today."Said Levy

"Dan? Dan fucking straight?" Asked Juvia, flabbergasted at the thought.

"More like Dan _isn't_ fucking straight" Mumbled Gajeel. Ignoring this the girls continued.

"Yeah, he was gonna be the dance partner for Lucy. They danced well together in the past and i bet they can pull it off again." Levy replied

"How would Natsu feel about that?" Asked Juvia.

"What does that matter?" interjected Erza. "She needs a dance partner and Natsu is not a dance. Besides he has taken the next week off from teaching to prepare for the Grand Martial Games this friday. Will be far too busy to participate. But that's not the concern here guys, you left the opening act of your show with _Natsu"_

"They will be fine, what's the worst that could happen?" Asked Levy

"A kid in nine months." replied Gray. who was suddenly assaulted by a lamp that Juvia had thrown at him.

"What the heck babe!" He rubbed his head and got up. "That was uncalled for."

"That wasn't a very bright thing for you to say hun." Juvia replied.

Meanwhile, both Levy and Gajeel turned to laughing messes at Grays demise.

"Juves, I highly doubt that natsu even understand how kids are made. Hell i bet he hasn't even thought about doing anyone."

"Gray if you get another _bright_ idea i'm going to _enlighten_ you with how happy i am with it." Juvia said as she raised a stage light above her head.

"OK OK OK OK you win!" Gray moved back from his current girlfriend as she seemed to release waves of threatening energy towards Gray.

"Besides, only those two could have gone to town, Lucy has her dance memorized. Heck she is way better than all of us at this. Lucy was the only one who had the freetime." Lisanna interjected.

"SHe has a point, come on guys, lets get this over with" Gray stood up and offered his hand to Juvia, who took a step back.

"Go ahead and continue on without me for a bit guys" Her phone had been going off for the last minute. "I have to take care of this real fast" She started walking towards the hallway.

"Hey babe you sure you don't-"

I'll be fine darling" Juvia blew him a kiss. "Make sure these idiots don't get out of line for me"

Juvia walked outside and made a dash for the bus her group used. Beside it sat a car that she was hoping to avoid for the next few centuries.

"Hey Juvia have you seen-"

No i haven't Dan, and we need to talk for a little bit before i can let you in."

Oh, ok! As long as i get to be with my beautiful Lucy i'm good.

" _Oh hun, Juvia thinks i need to shove your head into a toilet before this is over… Ugh what would Mira do…"_

()()(Natsu)()()

The pair of two were walking down the halls of their nearby department store. By this point natsu was carrying around 50 pounds of decorations from Levy's list of supplies that they needed.

And he really hated knowing that this was only half of them.

He began walking forward again in pursuit of the woman who decided it was a good idea to throw _every damned thing in the universe_ into his arms if it so much as peaked his interest.

"Can we like _NOT_ Buy the whole store?" He asked.

Lucy stopped and turned around, tilting her head at him in a provoking manner. "What do you mean? I'm not gonna purchase this store, that would be insane."

"And besides, buying everything in this store would be impossible" she interjected.

"Um no it's not-"

"Are you willing to sell yourself to me then?" She asked.

"I-I uh, N-no? What do-does that even mean?" Asked a suddenly cherry colored natsu who was desperately trying to hold onto the bags in his hand.

"It means" She said as she grabbed some of the bags out of his chest and got an inch from his face, letting her breath spill across his shaped chin. "That i would get to have you so i didn't have to do any heavy lifting for a while. And i could go sleep for a long time" She smiled and continued walking away from a bright red Natsu, hoping he didn't notice the immense blush that was now coating her face.

"I could come help if you asked ya now" Natsu said, suddenly backtracking in his mind to, " _Wait why did i agree to help this weirdo? AND SHE'S MAKING ME RED FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE."_

"I think i wouldn't mind that at all actually. On that note what's your number?" Lucy smiled as she held out her phone to his entirely full arms.

"Yes Luce let me just _type_ in my phone number real fast with these entirely _empty_ hands of mine." He replied in a snarky tone.

yo

"Shush it" was all she had to say.

The two made it through the checkout line in a decent amount of time, deciding to get ice cream from a nearby shop before they headed back to the recital location.

()()(At Erza's Gym)()()

"Hey Guys!" greeted Juvia as she walked forward "Mind taking some time and getting cleaned up real fast? I know you both have things-

"Juvia" asked Lucy

"-to do so i'll take these from here, Come along now! Juvia will take care of it from-"

"Dan is here, isn't he…" asked Lucy, she looked at the ground in disgust.

"Yeah… He is… I can't hide anything from you can i Lucy…"

"When it concerns him i wish you could." Lucy replied.

Meanwhile, Natsu stood to the side with a hundred pounds of supplies in hand listening to the girls nonsense.

"Come on inside then," Juvia said "Let's get this over with."

By this time the group of three had walked into the gym, still letting Natsu carry the supplies. They slowly walked into the main doors, delaying the inevitable meeting of this 'Dan' person that lucy was upset with, Natsu still had no idea what was going on.

"Hey there Lucy, How have you been" Asked a slightly nervous Erza.

"Lucy? LUCY! My darling it's been too long!" a man came forward with matted brown hair and simple blue eyes, a bouquet of roses. Natsu decided he did not like the scent of the cologne he was wearing either.

"Hey Dan," Lucy said. "Ill talk to you in a bit, let me take care of some of these baggages first.

"Of course darling. The quicker you're done the faster we can dance." He then winks in her direction.

" _Why do i hate this person so much? And why is he such a pain to Lucy?_ Natsu, still holding the materials, walked over to Lucy in an effort to help her put them away. In the farther corner of the gym. He just hoped it went quickly so he could get to training for friday.

()()()(Lucy)()()()

Lucy looked forward, trying not to catch Dan's eye. He stood to the side watching the team dancers practice their forms.

And he was shamelessly staring at Juvia's behind.

" _He is such a pig… How did i ever like him?"_ She thought to herself.

 _Of course you thought he was good, you hadn't yet met the sexy beast known as Natsu.'_

" _Shut it, brain. I don't need this now."_

 _Hey, im you hun. It's my job to tell you that when i see something like that you need to get him nice and alone with some soft music and ride-_

" _SILENCE HEATHEN."_

 _Fine, but i guarantee you he would last-_

"Just kill me" Lucy said aloud, drawing Natsu's attention.

"Come on," Natsu placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let me help you put this stuff away."

"Thanks Natsu, hey where were we supposed to put this though?" Lucy looked at Natsu, tilting her head again and unintentionally pushing herself closer to him.

"Well" He stutters, "Levy said you won't need it till friday, and apparently Dan and you practice separately from the group, so… i guess Erza wants me to let you use my practice arena." Natsu huffed slightly at the thought. "So lets go i guess, i'll just take the far side."

"Thanks Natsu, i don't want to be alone with him…"

"Who is he to you though?" Natsu asks. He pulled her up and began grabbing some of the bags again. They yelled at Dan to follow and took the back hallway to Natsu's corner of the building.

"He is technically my ex… and a massive mistake."

 _Of course he's a mistake, have you happened to look at the piece of perfection to your left? Oh i bet it would be his first by the way, so let's take him now-_

" _Keep talking and i'll slam my face into a wall again."_

 _Or how about Natsu's d-_

Lucy suddenly slapped herself in the face, startling Natsu.

"Hey," he dropped the bags on the floor. "You okay Luce?"

"Yeah i'm fine," She allowed Natsu to help her up.

 _Hey uh… did-_

" _Shut it"_

"Come on, you need practice anyway." Natsu gathered the bags and began placing them against the wall. "I can take care of these, you can practice."

"Thanks Natsu" Lucy said " _Ugh i kinda wish i didn't have to…"_

"Come on Dan." let's begin.

"Of course my dearest" Dan replied, reaching his hand out. Lucy turned on the music and began slowly stretching. Dan stood to her side, shamelessly staring at her chests.

Natsu walked forward and stood in front of Dan, blocking his view of Lucy.

"Hey" Dan interjected, "Im trying to watch my part-"

"Shush it slimeball. I don't know Lucy very well but she is a friend of my boss, mistreat her and you will regret it."

"Phh, no thanks mr _i'm_ the one who is here to"

Natsu bent down slightly and raised his hand then clutched the fabric beneath the neckline of Dan's shirt, hoisting him up in the air by the collar. "I said, do you understand?"

"O-of co-course sir!" Dan whimpered out.

"Good, if ya need something let me know, or Erza." With this Natsu walked into the changing rooms to get ready for his own workout..

Lucy stood and stared off into the direction that he had walked off in. Never had this kind of thing happened.

 _Well of course, he wants you to change into that se-_

" _I don't recall asking you to speak, now be quiet. We have to prepare for this dance."_

 _How about no? This guy smells like a locker room and looks as such. Bring the hunk back!_

" _He doesn't dance, now shush."_ she replied to herself.

"Remember the routine much?" she asked Dan.

"Naturally, beautiful." he replied.

The two began to slowly move across the floor in a forced rhythm, Lucy attempting to lead him. She slowly began to lead him less in hopes that he caught up. To her dismay, he was lagging behind in his form. He clumsily moved and acted as if his head was glued in place.

"Loosen up." Lucy said to him. "YOu need to flow more with the beat."

"The only thing i want to loosen is you, dear." He winked at her.

 _Kill him._

"Stop, now." Lucy planted both feet in front of him. "What the hell are you thinking? That is so perverted of you! You can't just say things like that to me!"

"Actually dear yes i can, it's been so long since i have gotten to-"

"Oh stop it, i'm not interested."

"But please, my Lucy." He grabbed her hand and looked at her. "Give me another chance, i'm truly sorry about earlier, i didn't want to have to do anything forced. But i'm no good under pressure."

 _Or the sheets._

" _Now is not the time."_

 _Just go get your hunk of a savior._

"Please Lucy? I really do still have-"

He was cut off by a gruff voice coming from the side. It yelled "Yo, get away from her you creep."

Both parties simultaneously stopped what they were doing, Dan not letting go of Lucy's hand as she tried to pull it away. They stared in pure shock at what they saw.

Natsu stood there, water dripping off his pink locks and continued below. His arms crossed his bare chest, showcasing the muscles that lay below. The rest of his body was coated in a fine gleam of water from his apparent shower. The scarf that she had always seen him with was tied around his hips.

Which were covered in a skimpy pair of workout shorts.

 _Ho ho ho! It must be christmas! Lucy, get yourself a bow, and rid the clothes-_

"Get away from Lucy" he walked forward and ripped Dan's hand away from her. "I have been watching you for the past, like, ten minutes. And you have done nothing but look at her. No real dancing at all."

"It doesn't concern you, now go away."

"I think remain right here." Natsu walked behind lucy and placed his hand on her shoulder that was opposite him.

 _Oh YEEEES, now began kissing him till you reach-_

" _Be quiet and listen_ " was all Lucy responded.

"This is between us and not you. Besides why would it concern you."

"Because," Natsu said. His face began heating up as he pulled Lucy into his chest. "My _girlfriend_ and i have a date later today and i don't want you to spoil it. Come on Luce, let's go."

Without letting anyone argue with him he picked her up and carried a blushing Lucy out of the room, leaving an aghast Dan to stand in the middle of the floor.

And Lucy's brain to run along a massive story of how many kids they were going to have.

()()(Just a tad bit later.)()()

Natsu carried Lucy inside his house, leaving the door closed and turning on some of the lights. He was still wearing the workout clothes. Which Lucy discovered that she really didn't mind. And of course her head loved that.

 _TO hell with being independant, let's just let him carry us everywhere. Now just began running your hands up his chest and-_ she cut off her Bad idea creator as she asked him

"Hey, you can put me down now."

 _Hey! Let him, Mr hunk is really warm…_

"Not happening." he dumped her onto his bed, then adjusted the pillow for her.

"I'm not a baby Natsu."

 _You're not a baby, but together you can-_

"I know, but i hate it when people do that." he replied.

"That's a weird thought coming from a guy wearing a speedo and a scarf for a belt." Lucy stated bluntly. "Oh, WHAT-"

Natsu suddenly jumped onto the bed and kneeled at her hips, keeping his body upright with his legs.

"Do NOT insult the scarf!"

 _Ok, nice start now pull him-_

"Uh, Natsu…" Lucy started. "What are you doing?"

"You insulted my scarf, it's punishment time!"

 _I like where this is going…_

"NO I MEANT WHY DID YOU BRING ME BACK TO YOUR PLACE AND THROW ME ON YOUR BED YOU PERV."

"Oh, uh.. Well…" Natsu started to scratch nervously at his neck. "You looked like you were on the verge of tears, and that guy was being a pain."

"So you decided it would be a good idea to tell him we were dating? So you had an excuse to move me?." She asked hesitantly.

"Well, your kinda sore where he was grabbing you, and i know you would have yelled about it if i didn't do something to help so i'm taking care of it now so you don't have to worry about it later." Natsu moved himself off of Lucy and walked to the bathroom.

 _Look at that wonderfully tight bu-_

"Hey Natsu…" Lucy started. He turned around and looked at her. "Thanks, i didn't realize that he was grabbing me hard enough to leave marks…" Lucy pulled her arms to her chest. "Thanks Natsu, nobody has ever really done that for me…"

"Hey, no problem, it's what friends do right? And you would have complained you were sore later tonight anyway…"

 _See, maybe listen to me and you can get a piece._

" _Shut up please, this is a deep emotional conversation"_

"Wait… tonight? What do you mean?"

"Juvia asked me if you could stay here, something about not having room where they are staying."

"Oh" was all Lucy had to offer in response. "Thanks Natsu."

"Anytime! Hey is there any type of lotion you specifically need for that or would any kind work?"

 _Well i think getting some L-_

"N-no." Lucy stutters as she comprehends what her bad-idea generator was thinking. "

"Ok ill just get the smoothest one possible, i'll be back in a moment. I suppose i'll grab some clothes as well, these work out shorts are uncomfortable. I'll be back!" at this Natsu disappears into the bathroom.

 _I'm assuming you know what i'm going to say about that smooth comment?_

" _Unfortunately," she told her mind "yes i do."_

Natsu returned a few minutes later, with a bottle of ointment and a plate of pizza rolls in his hand.

"Please don't tell me you plan to apply that with pizza rolls." Lucy said.

"Huh? Oh no, if you want me to i can but u-uh that would be a bit awkward wouldn't it?"

"What?" Lucy asked

"You literally just asked me to rub you down. These pizza rolls are still hot, and i'm still hungry!"

"Well you seemed to be perfectly fine letting me get pampered earlier." Lucy said, a pout forming on her face slowly.

"Well yeah, you seemed to not realize that you were getting sores from that weirdo Luce."

"Ugh, please can you- wait when did i get a nickname?

 _He used that like 100 lines of text ago hun, i tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen!_

"Huh? Oh it just seemed to fit."

"Really?" Lucy began blushing as Natsu got up and started applying ointment to her arms.

"Yeah, i don't really know why but i like it. It works for you." he used his mouth to pick a pizza roll off the plate in his lap.

"Did you just-"

"Yeah i did"

"Oh, that was impressive." Lucy looked at the plate in his lap, attempting to judge the distance between his mouth and the plate.

 _Wow, he could probably do him-_

"How do you remain flexible?" Lucy asked as her face heated up from the thought.

"Exercise mostly, remember i work as an instructor and i do competitions for money often."

"Oh, well thats cool."

"What about you?" he asked. "Oh and take your shirt off."

"Yeah, dancing keeps me fit and I- WAIT WHAT?"

 _Ah, you bumbling fool. Just do it._

"Take your shirt off Luce, unless you wanna do this yourself."

Lucy realized that he meant to apply the cream to her back as well. "Oh, ok."

Lucy allowed Natsu to begin applying it to her back. He was slow in his motion and it relaxed her a lot. "Mmmhmm," Lucy whispered. "That feels really nice." She slowly leaned her head back, letting herself begin to rest on his chest.

"Uh, Luce are you gonna pass out on me?"

"Yeah, i think i am." she closed her eyes and began settling down. Natsu moved the plate of pizza rolls farther away from himself and leaned back, allowing her to fully rest on him.

"Hey natsu." she asked.

"What?"

"Do you think… maybe you could help me find some dance partner for my performance."

"I promise you i can Luce, don't worry about it. Your tired just sleep."

Lucy passed into slumber, allowing Natsu to act as her pillow while she slept.

()()(Juvia)()()

Juvia stood in her boyfriend's apartment, slowly combing her long blue locks. The mirror was steamy from the shower that Gray was taking behind her.

"Hey Juvia, are you sure i shouldn't check on the flamebrain? Hell i might even need to explain to him how daing works." Gray grumbled out.

"Juvia is positive it will be fine," she glanced at her phone in expectation. "Besides Lucy is smart and- OH HELLO THERE" Juvia jumped onto her boyfriend's back as he got out of the shower, water still dripping down his hair.

"Could you at least let me dress first?" gray asked

"No, your just gonna take it off later anyways." Juvia answered, pulling herself to fully wrap around her boyfriends bare body.

"Well then in that case," he twisted her around and brought her face near is. "Shall we begin in here?"

Then the phone rang.

Startled, gray fell to the floor and juvia landed on top of him. He looked at the phone.

"Why the hell is Mira calling you at-" Gray began.

"Its Mira OH GOOD GIMME."

"Wait, what?" Gray stood up as Juvia answered the phone and jumped out of the bathroom. "Hey we ain't finished in here juves!"

"One moment dearest, make some pizza rolls real fast or something."

"Eating only pizza rolls is not very-"

"And a bottle of whip cream."

"Why a bottle of-" Gray stopped as juvia pointed to him and made finger bottle at his chest. "Oh, as you wish babe."

Juvia chuckled to herself and walked into the porch of Gray's apartment.

"Sorry Mira, had to deal with Gray for a moment."

"Oh it's fine, so tell me, why did you want me to cancel this tournament thing?"

"Oh Mira, We may have just discovered the biggest ship that has ever sailed these seas!" Juvia's voice raised a few octaves as she began to form hearts in her eyes.

"Oh my dear fill me in… is it a breakup? Or did-" Mira started.

"Nope, it's a new one!"

"Oh my goodness, describe the captain then."

"Hes decent, but super caring and cute, but a bit clueless. And she is staying at his house tonight!"

"Oh wow, so- wait that means it was Lucy! Nobody else is single in our group!"

"Yeah, Juvia believes that this boat is gonna get off from port pretty fast."

"Good, be sure to report in when you can soldier. But i'll leave you for gray. I believe you're both hungry, aren't you." Juvia caught the slight smirk in Mira's tone.

"Hey Juves you ready?" Gray called from the apartment.

"How did you? Oh whatever thanks Mira!"

"Never doubt the Queen Shipmaker Juvia, Never."

()()()()()()()

And thats all! For now at least, sorry about the late timing, I am rewriting my first Fic. (Healing wounds) and have been busy doing that.

and schoolwork.

*Sigh* let summer be here soon :D


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